1. Field of the Invention
An insulation-stripping pliers-type handtool is provided for severing and stripping a length of insulation from one end of an insulated conductor, toggle and cam means being provided for accurately controlling the length of the insulation layer that is to be removed from the conductor, and for retaining the severed insulation layer during the axial withdrawal of the conductor thereform.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pliers-type handtools for severing lengths of insulation from an insulated conductor are well known in the prior art, as evidenced, for example, by the Applicant's European patent No. EP 0 562 229, which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this prior art handtool, there are provided an electrical conductor crimping station, an insulation stripping station, a gripping station, and the like.
Such handtools basically proved effective in practice. In the case of the previously known handtools, the working station used to remove insulation from the conductor ends in the final analysis acts in a force-dependent manner. Via the use of manual levers, toggle means and the movable clamping jaw, a clamping force is first of all applied for the purpose of clamping a conductor end and the force is then increased until such time as the insulation has been cut.
One drawback of these known tools is that as the insulation is axially removed, the pull-off length cannot be precisely defined due to the friction inside the entire working station. Consequently, the present invention was developed so that one can achieve a precisely defined insulating length.
This problem is solved according to the invention in that the pull-off motion is controlled in a path-dependent fashion by a control device and that one can thus ensure a defined insulating length.
One can thus reliably prevent any kind of trouble during the removal of insulation from the conductor ends caused by insulation jacket particles that are cut off but are not completely pulled off from the conductor.
A form of a control device that is particularly simple to make consists of a control cam that is provided on the movable clamping jaw, and a control cam follower that is molded upon an articulated lever of the toggle means that is guided on the control cam. The control device thus consists of means that are purely mechanical and that can be made inexpensively and that practically do not increase the cost of such handtools. Besides, such a control device is also permanently functional-operable in harsh everyday environments.